Rainbow Connection
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Amber wants to cheer up Sofia after she loses something special from her childhood as a village girl, so after school one day she shows her a rather unique tree she's discovered behind Royal Prep. Naturally, there's more to this tree than meets the eye.


Rainbow Connection

Summary: Amber wants to cheer up Sofia after she loses something special from her childhood as a village girl, so after school one day she shows her a rather unique tree she's discovered behind Royal Prep. Naturally, there's more to this tree than meets the eye.

Disclaimer: I do not own the show. ;)

A/N: The tree mentioned in this story is real, and I plan on planting one eventually. I just thought it would make a cool subject for a story, even if it's not the full focus. :) Hope you enjoy!

"Oh, no!" Sofia whimpered worriedly as she dug through her trunk, several items tossed behind her shoulder. "No, no! Where is it?" She didn't hear the knock at her door due to her hasty movements.

"Sofia?" Amber walked inside and blinked at the younger girl, who looked rather frazzled. "Are you okay?"

"I lost my apron, Amber!" She looked up at her sister with grief-stricken eyes, the look of dismay evident on her face.

"Your…apron?" The older girl knelt down and calmly sorted through the items previously tossed. "Are you sure you didn't just put it somewhere else, Sofia? Things go missing all the time around here…"

"No, Amber, it was here when I last checked." She frowned in disappointment and sighed, leaning against the trunk. "I can't believe it's gone."

"What's the big deal about an apron anyway?"

The younger princess glanced at her sister. "I wore it when I lived in the village. It's a part of me…like your tiaras."

Amber smiled simply and gathered Sofia's remaining items, placing them back into the trunk. "I'm sure it will show up eventually. Don't worry."

Sofia folded her arms and rested her head on them. "Mm."

The eldest Enchancian child watched Sofia with interest. She was distraught, and she could understand why. Hopefully her apron would show up eventually, but what if it didn't? How could she cheer her up? She smiled suddenly as a thought came to her. "Sofia…"

The younger girl glanced up, seeing the look Amber was giving her. "Do I even want to know?"

She grinned. "Meet me on the steps after school is over today. I have something I'd like to show you."

Shrugging, Sofia complied. Maybe Amber's surprise would get her mind off of her missing apron.

The day went as it usually did. Everyone else seemed to be in brighter spirits, of course, and Sofia wished she could match them. But it was hard…losing something that linked her to her old life in a way these other students could scarcely understand.

Still, she abided by Amber's request and met her on the steps once the final bell rang. She sighed, seeing the blonde girl's excited smile. "What is it, Amber?"

"You'll love this!" Amber squealed, grabbing the girl's hand and quickly leading her down the steps and behind the school.

"Amber, slow down!" Sofia panted as she raced to keep time with Amber, who didn't seem to slow even a bit. All the time she'd spent coaching and actually practicing dazzleball seemed to have made a difference in her regimen a bit. "What are we doing?"

"It's over here." Amber slowed to a walk, much to Sofia's relief, and led the younger girl toward a rather remarkable tree, which was hidden behind a group of other trees. "Look at this."

Sofia blinked at the other girl but gazed upward, her downtrodden look changing to one of awe. "Wow…"

Before the girls stood a normal tree, but its bark was made out of rainbow strips. Up and down the entirety of the tree were varying colors. But this couldn't be _real_ , right?

Amber smiled, seeing Sofia's look of disbelief. "It's real," she assured her. "It's called a rainbow eucalyptus tree."

"It looks like a real-life painting," Sofia breathed as she walked around the tree, observing it. "Are there others like it?"

"Nope. It's the only one in this area. Pretty neat, huh?" She grinned.

"This is amazing, Amber…" She smiled at the older girl, realizing her intent. "Thank you. I know I've been a bit of a worrier recently, but I do appreciate that you've been trying to cheer me up."

"You'd do the same for me. Oh, and by the way…" She grinned. "This tree happens to be enchanted."

"Really?" Sofia gazed at it in curiosity. "Enchanted how?"

"If you touch its bark, it can sense a wish you may have. Somehow or another, it usually has a way of giving you what you want…if the wish is honorable enough."

"Oh…" She shrugged. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt." She closed her eyes and touched the bark, wishing earnestly for the one thing she desired: to be able to find her missing childhood apron. It may have seemed silly to wish for something like that, but to Sofia the simplest things meant the greatest to her.

A little while later, after the twins and Sofia had returned to Enchancia, Miranda called for Sofia.

"Yes, Mom?" she asked as she walked up to the queen.

Miranda smiled and handed Sofia her missing apron. "Here you are."

"My apron?" She gasped. "B-But I thought I'd lost it."

"No, I put away a few of your things into your trunk last night and noticed it had a hole in it. I decided to stitch it up for you." She laughed. "I didn't know you'd be so upset about it."

"Thanks, Mom!" She smiled and hugged her mother as she clutched the apron to her. "I know it sounds like a silly thing to miss, but it's a part of me, you know…" She let go of her mom and stood back. "I like to remember our times in the village every now and then, and when I saw that it was missing…"

"You panicked," the queen finished with a knowing smile. "I understand. We had some good times, didn't we?"

"We still do." Sofia smiled gratefully and walked off, meeting up with her siblings.

Amber smiled. "Found your apron, I see. Looks like the rainbow tree does hear wishes after all."

The younger girl giggled and nodded. "I guess so."

The end

A/N: So I'd like to apologize if this seems strange/random/short. I had surgery yesterday and have been a little out of it the last two days. But I wanted to write this and get it out before I get too busy. I'm working on finishing up "Hostage" and have started "Friend in Need." I'll deal with those later though, when I'm not so "loopy." Haha. :P Hope you liked it anyway.

~AquaTurquoise


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